Sept. 24, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Sarah Potts had 17 kills and UWM won at the Klotsche Center for the 58th time in its last 60 tries in opening its home season with a 30-16, 30-17, 30-18 victory over Chicago State Tuesday night.

The Panthers (4-9) were never seriously threatened in winning their second-straight match. UWM hit a season-high .358 while limiting the Cougars (3-12) to a -.046 hitting percentage.

Junior Larissa Cattanach added 12 kills while junior Lindsey Spoden collected 45 assists and 14 digs to help pace the Panthers. Sophomore Karen Fruit tallied nine kills and freshman Molly McNab added eight with a .778 hitting percentage for UWM.

Chicago State was led by Andrea Rose's 10 kills.

"It was nice to just take care of business. We started on top and we stayed on top. We played good volleyball," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "We probably didn't need to give them as many points as we did. It was nice for the freshmen to play well the first time on their home court."

In game one, UWM led just 5-4 early but gradually pulled away. The lead hit 14-8 on a Cattanach kill and grew to 18-10 on a kill by Potts, who hit .414 for the match. UWM's lead was 23-13 following another Cattanach kill and grew to 26-14 on Cattanach's fourth kill of the game. The Panthers then closed out the game on a kill by Potts and a Chicago State hitting error.

UWM controlled game two from the start, building a 10-5 advantage following a kill by Fruit and a service ace by Potts. Chicago State closed back to within 15-11, but the Panthers recorded back-to-back points on a kill by Spoden and an ace by Fruit and never looked back. The lead hit 22-13 following two-straight hitting errors by the Cougars and UWM closed out the game with four-straight points. The final point came on an ace by freshman Melissa Lange, who had five kills, four assists, five digs and four blocks in the match.

In game three, the Panthers used a 12-0 run to break open a close contest. A kill by McNab made it 14-12 Panthers and gave UWM the serve. Spoden then served the Panthers to 11 points in a row, with the run highlighted by three kills from Potts.

"We had to take care of the ball and we did," Litzau said. "It was nice to play at home and gain some confidence heading into the weekend."

UWM starts league play Friday night at Wright State, which was picked to win the Horizon League in a pre-season poll of the league's coaches. The match begins at 6 p.m. CDT.